


Hideaway

by RetroactiveCon



Series: Four Times Trouble [18]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Fluff without Plot, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, Stuffed Toys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:48:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27768541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RetroactiveCon/pseuds/RetroactiveCon
Summary: Upon seeing Barry with Henri, he tilts his head. “Sweetest darling, do you feel baby today?”Barry ducks his head and starts to chew on Henri’s stuffed ear. “Maybe, Daddy Leo,” he mumbles in the tone of voice that means he’s one wrong sentence from an RSD spiral. Oh, they have to do something about that.“Leo,” Leonard singsongs. It feels weird to be conspiring with his doppelganger, of all of them, but they have quite a secret in store for their baby. It’s been ready for the last several days, waiting for Barry to feel little enough to enjoy it. “I think when Ray wakes up and we have breakfast, we should show our baby what a nice thing we made for him.”
Relationships: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart/Earth-X Leonard "Leo" Snart/Ray Terrill
Series: Four Times Trouble [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1706920
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34





	Hideaway

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheRedHarlequin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRedHarlequin/gifts).



> So, it's not exactly a holiday-themed fic save for the gift-giving, but Harle, I've been working on this fic for a long time and thought it would make an okay gift fic. I hope it hits all the right fluffy notes!

Leonard wakes up and finds Barry in an adorable pink-and-lilac dress. Henri is held comfortably in his arms, the little badger’s bisexual bowtie matching Barry’s dress beautifully. Seeing the bright-eyed, playful look on Barry’s face, Len coos, “Good morning, baby.”

Barry coos and tucks a bashful hand up by his face. “Morning, Lenny.” He’s so cute and cheerful like this. After so many negotiations and renegotiations between the four of them, Leonard is irrationally glad to have his pretty baby to play with. (This, at least, he knows how to do.)

Leo wakes with a snuffle. Upon seeing Barry with Henri, he tilts his head. “Sweetest darling, do you feel baby today?”

Barry ducks his head and starts to chew on Henri’s stuffed ear. “Maybe, Daddy Leo,” he mumbles in the tone of voice that means he’s one wrong sentence from an RSD spiral. Oh, they have to do something about that. 

“Daddy Leo,” Leonard singsongs. It feels weird to be conspiring with his doppelganger, of all of them, but they have quite a secret in store for their baby. It’s been ready for the last several days, waiting for Barry to feel little enough to enjoy it. “I think when Daddy Ray wakes up and we have breakfast, we should show our baby what a nice thing we made for him.”

Leo coos delightedly. Of the three of them, he’s been the most impatient for Barry to see his surprise. He thrives on reactions even more than Leonard does—adorable with Barry, irksome when he turns it on Leonard. “Oh yes, Lenny, I like that idea.”

Leonard almost threatens him with a thorough spanking if he calls him ‘Lenny’ again. He stops himself on Barry’s behalf. He’s so delicate in littlespace, and threats around him would break his sweet heart. 

Barry misses the annoyed undercurrent completely. His face lights up and he starts bouncing in place, flapping his hands. “Surprise! Surprise for me? Daddies and Lenny made me a surprise?”

“Yes we did, just for a baby,” Leo agrees. His words are punctuated by a soft, sleepy noise—Barry’s bouncing woke Ray. He sits up on Leo’s other side and peers around, bleary-eyed. 

“Morning, all,” he murmurs. When his eyes settle on Barry, he coos, “Good morning, sweetest baby. Are you feeling little and cute today?”

Barry giggles and squeezes Henri. “I’m always little and cute!”

“Yes you are,” Ray agrees, kissing his cheeks and the tip of his nose. “Even when you’re our big boy, you’re still so cute. But that dress makes you look even softer and sweeter than usual, love. You’re going to fit in so nicely with your surprise!”

Barry goes back to bouncing. This time, it feels insistent rather than excited. (Leonard can’t help laughing a little, that he’s lived through enough baby Barry bed bounces to tell the difference.) “Surprise!” 

Leonard gets out of bed and beckons Barry to follow him. “Yes, baby, you’ll get your surprise,” he promises. “But first, breakfast.”

He makes banana pancakes, with plenty of teasing about mushing a banana for the baby. Ray pours everyone coffee, except for Barry, who gets apple juice. “We should probably get you a sippy cup,” he teases when he hands Barry a glass. 

“Daddy Ray,” Barry sighs, sounding hopelessly put-upon. “Not a _tiny_ baby. Don’t need a sippy cup.”

“Well, no,” Ray concedes. With a conspiratorial glance at Leonard and Leo, he adds, “But it will help keep you from making a mess on your nice surprise.”

Barry thrusts his fists down by his sides and pouts. “Stop teasing me!”

Leonard comes over with his plate and gives him a penitent kiss. “We’re sorry, sweetest baby,” he murmurs. “It’s cruel to tease. Eat your breakfast, and then you’ll get a treat for being such a good and patient boy.”

Barry is so impatient for his surprise that he scarfs down his pancakes in just a few minutes. The three of them eat relatively quickly, too, to make sure Barry doesn’t have to wait too long.

Once they clean up from breakfast, Leonard takes Barry by the hand and leads him up the stairs. Between the playroom and the office, there’s a third bedroom, smaller than the playroom, that they’ve kept closed. Barry saw it when they first bought the house, but he’s trusted that they have plans for it and hasn’t asked since. Now he starts bouncing as they go up the stairs. “Whole big surprise _room_?” 

“That’s right, baby.” Ray ducks ahead of them and opens the door. He’s actually glowing with pride—softly, barely noticeably given the early-morning light streaming through the now-open door, but a distinct golden glow. “Surprise room!”

The room inside used to be a hideous shade of brown. Now, it's been repainted in baby-blue and sponged with feathery patterns in pink and lilac. The carpet underfoot is cream-colored and plush; most of it is unoccupied to leave plenty of play space for their baby. Gauzy curtains cover the window, allowing diffuse sunlight to fill the room. In one corner, there’s a bed with a white-painted wooden frame and a soft quilt. It’s less a place to sleep and more a home for a vast number of plushies. In the opposite corner, quite near the window, a soft but strong fabric swing has been hung from the ceiling.

“Swing!” Barry squeals. He bounces and claps, Henri clutched tight to his chest. Leonard catches him from behind and rocks with him. 

“Stimmy baby!” he coos. “Do you want to take one of your nice new plushies on the swing with you?”

Barry turns to the bed and squeals again. Leonard covers a laugh. He’d gone to such trouble to find Barry as many soft special-interest things as possible, most of which ended up being Pokemon. There’s a Dragonair coiled around one of the bedposts, a Joltik on the pillow with a Yamper and a Jolteon flanking it, a sleeping Vulpix plushie carefully perched on a Snorlax’s belly, and even a handmade Hatterene the size of Barry’s torso. 

“Soft!” Barry squeaks, launching himself into the middle of the plushies. 

“Where did you get all of those?” Leo asks in an undertone. If he has to ask, he knows; he just doesn’t want to admit it to himself.

“Ask me no questions, I’ll tell you no lies,” he says, grinning. While Leo rolls his eyes and grumbles, Leonard wanders over to the bed and pets Barry’s cheek. “You’re happy with your plushies, sweetest baby?”

Barry grabs his Hatterene plush and squishes her tightly. “She’s so big!” 

“She’s smiling at you,” Leonard coos. He’d taken great care to commission the Hatterene making her happy face: eyes narrowed in contentment, smiling peacefully. Their baby is so sensitive to others’ expressions that Leonard had wanted to make absolutely sure he’d feel at peace with her. 

“Yeah!” Barry gets to his feet and takes the Hatterene over to the swing with him. He sits down, tucks himself into the fabric, and hugs his plushie to his chest. The swing can’t go very high, but that’s all right; Barry just rocks himself back and forth, singing under his breath. 

“I don’t think I know that song,” Leo coos. 

“Swing song!” Barry says happily. “ _Let’s go fly a kite, up to the highest height…_ ”

Leonard has never heard the ‘swing song’ before—not that he doesn’t know the song, but that he’s never had a chance to see Barry swing and sing. It’s adorable. 

“How is he so darling?” Leo coos. 

Leonard grins. “One of his many talents.”

Barry swings for a couple of repetitions of the song. Then he squirms out of the swing, wanders over to the bed, and fetches down the Jolteon and a proud-looking Growlithe. “Jolene and Growly,” he says happily, and proceeds to play out a story. The fine points get a bit lost on Leonard, but he’s pretty sure the two little Pokemon end up kissing. 

“Having a good time, baby?” Ray drops down next to Barry on the ground and watches him play.

“Yes!” Barry thrusts the sleeping Vulpix at him and starts wiggling. Their baby has too much energy to play on the floor for much longer. Leonard only hopes he’s content with the story he tells before his energy gets to be too much. “Play with me!”

“Okay, baby.” Ray picks up the Vulpix and has it kiss Barry’s cheek. “Show me what we’re playing.”

While they play, Leo sidles up close to Leonard and murmurs, “So what do we do when he gets too bouncy to sit?”

“Put on some music and let him dance.” Len nods at a little speaker in the corner. “It’ll make his day.”

Barry perks up. “Music?” he coos. Adorably, he reaches back over for the Hatterene and brings her into his lap. “Ms. Hattie and I want music!”

“Of course you do,” Len agrees, going over to turn on the music. He’d put together a selection of all of baby Barry’s favorites, many of them from movies he’d watched as a child. All of them are danceable—Barry loves music he can dance and stim to, especially when he’s in littlespace. 

By design, the first song that comes on makes Barry light up and bounce to his feet. “Stim song!”

“That’s right, baby, it’s our good stim song,” Leonard agrees. He puts his hands on Barry’s waist and sways with him to the slow opening notes. “Do you think Ms. Hattie likes this song?”

Barry tilts his head like he can’t believe Leonard has asked such a silly question. “Of course she does!”

Belatedly, Leonard realizes he should have expected Leo to pounce—literally and figuratively—during the bridge. “What is _this_?” 

Leonard tolerates his hug, if only barely. “The stimmiest part of the song, obviously.” He nods at Barry, who’s let him go in favor of bouncing in place, Ms. Hattie flopping in his arms. 

Leo’s smile creases the corners of his eyes. “It’s beautiful.”

When the bridge ends and the music swells, Barry flings himself at both of them. They catch him together. Leo laughs and kisses the top of his head. “Getting some of your energy out, stimmy boy?”

“Yeah!” Barry tries to bounce while he’s still in their arms. It turns into an awkward little wiggle that makes Leonard's heart feel oddly full. His sweet boy is so happy. (Leonard wishes Barry could stay this joyful always.) 

Barry bounces around for several songs. Each of them takes a turn dancing with him, but even then, he wears them all out. Leo flops down in the middle of the bed, surrounded by plushies; Leonard and Ray sit on the edge, watching Barry. 

“He really is sweet like this,” Ray murmurs. In a slightly harder tone, he clarifies, “But you didn’t lead him to this?”

Leonard shakes his head. “No. I had to prove that he didn’t freak me out, but no, all of this is him.” He’s not sure it’s his place to explain, but Barry won’t, at least not right now. “I can't speak to every time he does it, but this morning, I suspect it's about needing a different kind of care than we usually give him…a less stressful one.”

Ray chuckles ruefully. “Yeah, that was a discussion we needed to have. I’m glad we did, but it can’t have been easy for Barry.”

Leonard nods. Ray doesn’t know the half of it; he didn’t see how worried Barry was upon first realizing that he had to tell the three of them to back off. His poor Scarlet is much too attuned to other people’s needs; that’s why he needs a release like this one, where he has permission to be little and playful and selfish. 

Before either of them can say more, Barry wanders over and flops down on top of Leo. “All danced out,” he reports. 

Leo lifts his head and blinks in sleepy bewilderment. Leonard hadn’t even noticed him starting to doze off. “Hmm? Naptime?”

“Lunchtime,” Leonard corrects. “Dancing babies work up an appetite.”

As it turns out, they’re both right. Barry is delighted to eat a big lunch, having worked up quite an appetite by dancing; he also starts to get sleepy-eyed about halfway through. They finish the meal with Barry leaning against Ray’s shoulder, sleepily nibbling bites out of his fingers. 

“I think it’s time we go take a nap in the big bed,” Leo suggests. He reaches over to run his fingers through Barry’s tousled hair. “Isn’t that right, baby boy?”

Barry’s eyes flutter half-open and he peers at Leo from under heavy lids. “Mhmm.”

Ray gets to his feet and coaxes Barry up too. “Come on, sweetheart,” he coaxes. “Let’s leave the cleanup for later. Do you want to grab a plushie from the playroom before we go nap?”

Barry shakes his head and wanders toward the stairs. Leonard jogs after him just in time to stop him from colliding with the wall. 

“Sleepy Scarlet,” he coos, guiding him up the stairs. “We should have let you rest sooner.”

Barry nuzzles against his side, soft and warm. Leonard makes a contented sound and pulls him closer. Even then, it’s hard to hear Barry’s whisper. “This is good. I like letting you lead when ‘m sleepy, Lenny.”

Leonard kisses the top of Barry’s head. His baby is so sweet and trusting. “I love you so much, baby.”

Barry gives little sleepy rocks. “Love you too, Lenny.”

When they reach the bedroom, Len helps Barry under the covers and presses right up against him. Leo hurries over and curls up on Barry’s other side, making soft little cooing sounds at him as he goes. “Such a sweet baby,” he murmurs. “I love you so much.”

Barry yawns and makes little happy noises. “Love you too, Daddy Leo.”

To Leonard’s shock, Ray doesn’t lie down on Leo’s other side. Instead, he sinks down on the edge of the bed closest to Leonard and checks, “May I?”

This is…unprecedented. Ray hasn’t asked to snuggle him before. Leonard has gotten the impression he sees the same barrier of insurmountable awkwardness that has kept Leonard from reaching out to him. “Um…sure?” he says, unsure what else to say. 

Ray stretches out behind him and drapes his arm carefully over Leonard’s waist. Aside from the awkwardness in how Ray holds him, this is oddly nice. He’s strong and solid against Leonard’s back, and he brings with him a radiant warmth comparable to Barry’s speedster heat. 

“Oh, snuggle up properly then,” Leonard mutters. This awkward cuddling isn’t doing any of them any good.

Barry peeks open one eye, squeaks in delight, and yanks on Ray’s hand to pull him closer. Ray lets himself be tugged more firmly against Leonard’s back. In the process, his arm settles more comfortably over Leonard’s waist. 

“Happy napping, all,” Leo mumbles from Barry’s other side. He sounds like he’s half-asleep already. The thought makes Leonard feel oddly fond toward him. 

“Best,” Barry murmurs. Then his eyes close and he’s out like a light. 

Ray’s voice is warm with amusement. “Sweet dreams, Len.”

As he drifts off for a (slightly stiflingly warm) nap, Leonard reflects that he’s glad Ray didn’t call him ‘Lenny.’


End file.
